Fall 2008 Archive:

by Telford Work, Associate Professor of Theology As I look out the window of my office in Porter Center, to my left is the same verdant vinca that covered the ground Nov. 13. But the mulch and wood chips... Read More

Bert Brown ’58 played the trumpet in the Westmont pep band, but he didn’t have time to sing in the choir. The need to work and pay for his education interfered with such activities. He has always loved music... Read More

Learning from the past helped Westmont be well prepared for the Tea Fire. Three earlier blazes threatened the campus, and two did serious damage. A common theme runs through all four fire stories: each one could have been much... Read More

Charles Burns ’67 served as a pastor for 17 years before he transferee to Westmont. Although he enjoyed counseling parishioners at Goleta Foursquare Church, he began to believe his gifts lay in teaching. His wife, Barbara, encouraged him to... Read More

As soon as students reached the safe shelter in Murchison during the Tea Fire, they experienced a variety of emotions, including frustration at their inactivity. “Some students were distressed because they could do very little to help themselves and... Read More

Theater students and faculty worked with artists from across the globe this fall in the second biannual Lit Moon World Shakespeare Festival held in Santa Barbara. Westmont professor and Lit Moon Theatre Company director John Blondell founded and organizes... Read More

God was with me that Thursday night Every Tuesday and Thursday evening I babysit from 5-8 p.m. for a woman who lives on Mountain Drive above Page Hall. But Nov. 13, she called and said she didn’t need me... Read More

By Kim P. Kihlstrom, Professor of Computer Science On Nov. 14, Ken and I were traveling in Israel with Westmont’s Europe Semester. We’d had an amazing time as co-leaders with English Professor Randy VanderMey and his wife, Dana, especially... Read More

Although my home in Las Barrancas did not burn, many others around the neighborhood did. This morning, as I returned to a book I am writing, “Living the Quieter Virtues in a Noisy World,” I began the introduction to... Read More

She majored in Spanish education at Calvin College in Michigan, received a master’s degree in foreign language education and Spanish from the University of Florida at Tampa, and earned a doctor-ate in 20th century Latin American narrative and women... Read More

In a decision released Dec. 3, California’s Second District Court of Appeal unanimously supported Westmont’s plan to update its campus facilities, reaffirming a December 2007 Santa Barbara County Superior Court ruling that upheld unanimous approvals by the Santa Barbara... Read More

Westmont officials broke ground on two new buildings Oct. 23, the first significant construction on the campus in 24 years. Trustees and other college dignitaries wielded gold shovels to turn dirt at the sites for the Adams Center for... Read More

There were many heroes the night of the Tea Fire: all the students who immediately evacuated to the gym and patiently waited there throughout the night; the resident assistants and resident directors who worked quickly to account for students;... Read More

The sharp smell of smoke arrived ahead of the fire. Students began to notice it after 5:45 p.m. Nov. 13. Within minutes, flames appeared at the Tea Gardens, the abandoned arches on a hillside above campus. The night before,... Read More

Suffering is an incredibly challenging but necessary part of our journey of faith. One of the great hurdles to my own belief in Christ involved coming to terms with the problem of evil and suffering. For five years I... Read More